Hepatic iron index (Bassett)
Computes the hepatic iron index: hepatic iron concentration in micromoles per gram dry weight, divided by the age in years.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Hepatic iron concentration, dry weight
- 6700
- Unit the laboratory reported it in
- micrograms per gram dry weight
- Age
- 45 years
Result: an index of 2.67, from a microgram figure converted before dividing
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- The formula
- Hepatic iron concentration in micromoles per gram dry weight, divided by the age in years.
- At or above 1.9
- The level Bassett associated with homozygous hemochromatosis. A supporting measurement, not a diagnosis.
- Below 1.9
- Does not exclude iron overload from another cause, and a young homozygote can sit below it.
- The units
- Iron weighs 55.845 micrograms per micromole. A microgram figure used directly overstates the index about fifty-six-fold.
- Why age
- A homozygote accumulates iron progressively, so the same concentration means more in a young patient.
- Superseded
- HFE genotyping and MRI iron quantification answer this without a biopsy; the 2011 guideline treats the index as supporting.
What you enter
- Hepatic iron concentration, dry weight
- Unit the laboratory reported it in
- Age
How this is calculated
Bassett ML, Halliday JW, Powell LW. Value of hepatic iron measurements in early hemochromatosis and determination of the critical iron level associated with fibrosis. Hepatology. 1986;6(1):24-29. Bacon BR, et al. AASLD practice guideline. Hepatology. 2011;54(1):328-343. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.